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Ignore tea party bluster; spending needed
Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009 | 2:04 a.m.
On Monday the circus came to town. No, not one with acrobats, bearded ladies and animals. This was a political circus, put on by a conservative California group: Our Country Deserves Better.
It did have clowns, hundreds of them, wearing tea bags and brandishing signs denouncing President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Democrats. They complained about the spending going on in Washington, and they were pretty much against any proposal made by the Democrats.
How quickly they have forgotten the terrible shape the country was in when Obama took over as president. We were fighting two wars, the economy was in the tank, banks were failing, and the Big Three automakers were on the ropes.
The spending they complain about is for the two wars, defense, agriculture, Medicare, Social Security, and other necessary agencies and programs providing for the American people. There is a stimulus package to help keep teachers in our classrooms and police on the streets, and to support other programs and provide jobs here — and that’s necessary in a failing economy.
Don’t be swayed by their ballyhoo. The Democrats are doing everything they can to get America back on track.
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hey richard...
excellent letter...
these teabaggers are complete frauds...
as is the retarded republican party...
i want to know where was all of the outrage when w the scum bag liar loser clown was doubling the national debt...
hmmm...
total joke...
complete and total joke!!!
Dump Reid in 2010
I love dumbocrats who believe the cure to over-spending is to spend even more.
We need more spending...LOL
Yeah sure, we can be the first and only country in history to spend our way to prosperity.
Spendocrats
Just a fyi....Obama is about to offically announce the death of the public option.
I think he is going with the old Clinton trick of triangulation so makes him look like is fighting Congress to improve his poll numbers.
Good luck to him on that one.
The economy was not great when Obama was elected and it had gotten much worse very quickly since then. He hasn't a clue.
Your right. Let's just take money from someone and spend it.. Just don't spend any of mine? what a joke
Hey Richard >>>>> The Democrats are doing everything they can to get America back on track. YEA RIGHT: There the ones that ran us off the track in the first place! Local welfare, State welfare, Federal welfare, (Pay your fair share, O im sorry i didn't mean to bring up most of President Obama's Cabinet Members) They seem to keep missing that pesky April 15 deadline' Thats even if they remember to file there taxes anyway. Now there even giving stimulus checks to prison inmates YEA AND OF ALL PLACES'S >>>>> MASSACHUSETTS
Ballywhat???
The Dems idea is to spend, spend and spend somemore on pork projects that benefit only a few. I've yet to see a Dem in the current admin or congress that cares about the good of the whole country. They only care about getting themselves re-elected and would sell their soul to keep their position. The dems are great at spending other peoples' money to further their own personal advancement or to share the wealth. I'm getting really tired of having to support the slackers who think that I should share my little bit of wealth with them. Carry your own weight and quit sponging off others.
Rusty57 - Your Bushy and Cheney hold the record on spending. Perhaps you should educate yourself before posting idiotic comments.
"How quickly they have forgotten the terrible shape the country was in when Obama took over as president. We were fighting two wars, the economy was in the tank, banks were failing, and the Big Three automakers were on the ropes."
You might want to change were were was were to are are are and are on account that there ain't nothing changed.
Know why?
Because we are still ruled by special interests and they are still making money!
ballyhoo!!! I like it...
The White House talking points for the day is:
"How quickly they have forgotten the terrible shape the country was in when Obama took over as president."
TERRIBLE, JUST TERRIBLE!!! Look at us now...
I've got some news for you Dick, its still in terrible shape and Obama is making it worse.
"TERRIBLE, JUST TERRIBLE!!! Look at us now..."
In the past six months, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up almost 3000 points. Manufacturing data was released on Tuesday showing that it grew for the first time in a year last month. The banks are lending again, and the U.S. Government is even making a profit from some of the bailout funds.
We're finally starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel that Bush and Cheney dug for us.
The economy will have to do a lot better to pay off the debt that has been put on our children...
Judy, do you mean to tell me that Obama has reduced spending from the "Bushy/Cheney" era? Are you clueless or just post as one?
The Dow is up in direct proportion to Obama's falling approval rating, which is now at 45%.
One term!
rusty: Increased spending saved the country's ass. Now it's the presidents job to cut wasteful spending which he will do, e.g. the needless F-22 fighter jet is a small start.
Get on board or get out of the way.
"One term?" Isn't that similar to the refrain we keep hearing from the anti-Reid crowd, who still can't manage topple one of the weakest Dems in the land?
Oh yea, we will never need or use those F-22's. Maybe we could do away with a couple of carrier groups and then lets reduce the Army by a half dozen Divisions.
No need to worry about those poor people who want to cause harm to the U.S. They would never have the resources to attack us. Why would they attack us anyway? Bush is out of office...
The Defense Department has been in favor of cancelling the F-22 for years. Apparantly everybody in America thinks our defense $ could be used more efficiently than you do.
Where you in favor of the bridge to nowhere also?
"How quickly they have forgotten the terrible shape the country was in when Obama took over as president. We were fighting two wars, the economy was in the tank, banks were failing, and the Big Three automakers were on the ropes."
Hey Richard - Newsflash! We have not forgotten the terrible shape the country was in, because it continues to get worse. Domestically we are not improving and Barry keeps trying to weaken our position around the world.
You must be so proud of the inexperienced radical in the White House. The problem with our system is that they don't require an IQ test for voter registration.
What's 45% and falling? Alf's IQ?
No, Obamination's approval rating.
Hey Gordon, I do not know where that bridge to nowhere is, but I do know the huge deficit that the current administration has built and is continuing to enlarge at an alarming rate.
I forgot how much the Administration has cut from it's budget. Maybe you could inform me what the total cuts to date are... Thanks...
Contrast a Bush $2 trillion deficit over 8 years to the Obama forecast of $8 trillion over 8 year.
That is $250 billion per year versus $1.0 trillion per year.
The Afghanistan and Iraq wars have cost $650 billion under Bush. Without the war cost Bush would have had an average annual deficit of $170 billion per year - but still unacceptable.
Under Bush - the Revenue went up from $1,991.4 to $2,523.6 billion or 27% (3.4% per year). The revenue at the end of FY-2008 matches the Clinton Forecast in the late 90s, hence the Bush "tax rate" cuts while shifting the revenue further onto the rich, still achieved the "Clinton Forecast." 50% of earners do not pay taxes. The rate cut did get us out of the Clinton dot.com /9-11 recession.
In reality many Republicans (not conservatives) did over spend during the Bush years.
Under Bush -- the Outlays went from $1,863.2 to $2,978.5 billion or 60% (7.5% per year).
While the 2007 deficit was $160.7 billion it went up temporarily to $454.8 billion in 2008 due to the recession and a $200 billion dollar 2008 stimulus I and it includes $180 billion for the surge in the Iraq war. Hence the core 2008 deficit without the war and stimulus in 2008 was $70 billion.
The 8 year Bush investment included a 59% increase in veterans' benefits, 58% increase in education, 55% increase in health research and regulations, 51% increase in Medicare, 22% increase in highways and mass transit, and 17% increase in Social Security. $700 billion just for Medicare prescription drugs.
Appropriation the last four year of Bush was controlled by the Nancy Pelosi House and last 2 also by the Harry Reid Senate. Bush never veto the budget items passed by Nancy and Harry
In reality Democrats have never been opposed to deficits. It just suited their opposite spin when the deficit is not on their agenda items. Post 9/11 Wars were not on their agenda.
Now the Democrats call this spending an investment in America.
Contrast a Bush $2 trillion deficit over 8 years to the Obama forecast of $8 trillion over 8 year.
Now the Democrats call this spending an investment in America.
Since taking office Obama in 30 days, with help from Reid-Pelosi, passed a $789 billion Stimulus II, a $350 billion TARP I(b), the $40 billion SCHIP, and a $410 billion 2009 Omnibus discretionary spending bill. Democrats would not pass a 2009 budget in 2008 so they could wait for Obama to shape to their spending. CBO is projecting a $1.5 trillion 10-year cost of health care coverage.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...
During the 2008 campaign, President Obama vowed to enact a bold agenda without raising taxes for those make $250,000 - about 97 percent of taxpayers, a pledge budget experts viewed then with skepticism.
The reality is taxing 100% of the 3% of the "Rich" will not change the deficit curve.
For Obama the answer for deficits is increasing inflation.
"If you rule out inflating our way out of the problem and defaulting on the debt, there are two ways: Cut spending or raise taxes," said William G. Gale, an expert on fiscal policy at the Brookings Institution. With more than 80 percent of federal spending devoted to politically untouchable programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, he said, "it's going to be really hard to make significant headway on the spending side. So that means you've got to think about taxes."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/28/opinio...
Paul Krugman has come to tell us to not worry about our looming 10 year $9 trillion deficit. It only impact is political. Krugman is arguing that the debt to GDP ratio going from 30% to 70% because Belgium and Italy are okay.
Krugman says "We're looking at a rise in the debt/G.D.P. ratio of about 40 percentage points. The real interest on that additional debt (you want to subtract off inflation) will probably be around 1 percent of G.D.P., or 5 percent of federal revenue. That doesn't sound like an overwhelming burden."
The slippery slope here is the policy depends on raging high inflation to diminish the original borrowed value and the faith of the lenders like China that they have made a good investment.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/08/o...
R.J.Mundy: GREAT LETTER
We beat the Repubs and the're still crying
like babies.The bottom line is still this:All
Americans need health care period.
Team,
All Americans have health care. Who is denyng anyone health care?
I posted this on another page earlier but it is so great (arn't all of the opinions of those who post here?) it is worth repeating:
Let's cut the crap. I everyone who is faking disability to get on Medicare..
If everyone who refuses to get a job and, ergo, health insurance from their employer"
If everyone who makes enough money to purchase health care but won't"
If everyone who spends their money on cigs, booze, and enough food to be among the 50% of Americans who are obese dropped their expensive bad habits and bought health insurance".
If all the illegal aliens went home".
Well".there wouldn't be a health care crisis in America and all of us on this site debating this issue would have to get a life.
LarryVegas, mikegino:
DJIA approx. 6,600 in March & approx. 9,300 today. That means our financial institutions and world institutions have confidence in the Obama administration's financial policies.
I listened to all that deficit spending crap when Reagan was president and I'm still waiting for the repercussions.
If you're so worried about your grandchildren's future tell your kids not to have kids. Find something real to complain about, like death panels, birth certificates, and which religious zealot you can run for president in 2012.
PALIN/WURZELBACHER 2012!
The Dumb & Dumber Ticket
If Sarah quits you can have Joe for president. Tax breaks for plumbing repairs!
Gordon shouldn't call anyone dumb...
Hey, Sarah and Joe... What a ticket... Two real people but I am not sure of their political affiliations. I would rather see a couple of Independents in office.
pbim72:
You ask,who is denying anyone health care?
My brother and my wife's sister because they
have pre-existing conditions. No, the emergency
room is not health care.
"One Term"
You may be right. But what you are conspicuously leaving out is the fact that while Obama's approval #s have slipped, the republican approval #s have stayed static.
Read: those who are unhappy with Obama at this point are not switching over to the republican side. Ironic because the GOP goal of widening the gap between the two parties has worked so well, they made it damn near impossible for disenchanted dems to swim over to their side. Ooops.
So while you GOP clowns keep gloating over Obama's dwindling #s, I just laugh that you actually think that means something positive for the GOP. But hey, I am sure Hillary thanks you all for making her job in 2012 that much easier.